Parking Brake

4.2.1.2 Parking Brake

It's fairly common for the parking brake cable to freeze in the "parked" state. This applies to both mki and mkii's.

Do not drive with the brake frozen if possible. This is obviously not good for the brakes.

Several people have suggested buying a new parking brake cable from Toyota (approx $40 or so). Apparently, moisture gets in the cable and freezes when it gets cold. The new cable will eliminate this altogether.

I have also heard that it is possible to get the moisture out of cable but this could be very difficult in some areas where it is constantly below freezing for the whole winter season.

Therefore, it appears there is 2 viable solutions:

1) Don't use the parking brake when it's cold out or

2) Buy a new cable from Toyota

Frozen parking brake cables are a problem here as well. Check the mki section "Parking Brake" for possible solutions.